School

65 pages

8-12 m, 12-15 w, 6-15 either.

Several years ago, Professor Flitcraft, a band of his college students, and his nephew Charlie discovered how to make holographic characters appear lifelike. They began using them in a local TV soap opera but now the college is getting set to close his lab down unless the Professor can come up with something new -- and soon. The pressure builds when his wife Aunt Tilde, (well, not really his wife but that's another soap opera) has been seen doing weird things, and a social worker wants to declare her crazy. Charlie and the other students hit upon their newest...

70 pages

11 m, 17 w, extras as desired

While World War II rages, the Bugle sisters turn their Grandpa Buddy's Seaside Hotel into the Star-Spangled Canteen where sailors and soldiers can relax. Not only do the girls want to help the war effort, but they want to save the Seaside from the hands of a ruthless businessman, Skylar Schutt, who intends to buy it for back taxes. But when Schutt accuses Grandpa Buddy of being a German spy, the girls - with a little help from the Ladies' League for Coastal Defense - declare all-out war! And it isn't long before a platoon of spies surfaces! It seems everybody...

52 pages

8 m, 17 w, 7 flexible

Everyone expects the beautiful Belle Beauchamp to win the title of Miss Kingdom of Luxuryburg. But one contestant, the evil Malvinia, will stop at nothing to have that crown placed on her own head. She hires a witch, Ottilie, who casts a sleeping spell, and it works like a charm. As everyone falls asleep, Malvinia grabs the crown for her own. A few months later, a musical boy group known as the "Charming Princes" notice a terrible drop in their music sales. Their agent, Maxine Develin, insists they find a new sound. The boys head to Luxuryburg on the urgings ...

64 pages

8 m, 10 w, 3 flexible, doubling possible

Bridey Stands conned General Washington into making the female-run town of Bridey's Haven its own country, totally separate from the United States of America. But even Bridey realized the 18th century wasn't quite ready for a country run entirely by women. So she hid the document under a fireplace stone in her inn. Two hundred years later, the inn is in deep financial trouble. To make matters worse, a local politician and greedy land developer want to turn the entire area into a big shopping mall while the U.S. government wants to take over the little nation....

56 pages

Flexible cast of about 30

This delightful adaptation updates the action to 20th century New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration! It has been edited for time and archaic expressions, but otherwise the language is the same. The through-line is still very evident as Shakespeare's comment on the classes and pastoralism. Included in the oversized script are four original songs, New Orleans jazz style, which use Shakespeare's poems as the lyrics, with the suggestion of a grand finale of "When the Saints Go Marching In." The costumes are modern day but still very much in the style of Shakespeare ...

60 pages

7 m, 6 w, extras

Coming to your theatre! All the fast-paced action, all the cockeyed characters, all the romance you'd ever want and still have room for popcorn. Return with us now to those thrilling days of silent movies when anything went and usually took most of the scenery with it. Can B.B. Tackett, one step ahead of the police, make his next movie? Will Freddie Thurlow find true love with the daughter of a fruit vendor and will she be the apple of his eye? And just who brought in a stuffed hamster, anyway? Wisecracking their way through one scrape after another, our litt...

51 pages

6 m, 5 w, 2 flexible

Life is not so cool lately for Debbie Dawn, the teen starlet whose fantastic movie career suddenly seems empty and shallow. Even her screen boyfriend, Troy, wonders why he must be a teenager in love, especially now that he's 26. The real problems, and the fun, begin when Debbie's no-good manager plots her murder to cover the fact he's lost all her money on shady business deals. An inept hit man gets himself pummeled, knifed, and shot just trying to get near Debbie. Her beach house is more like a madhouse because "TV Sock Hop" host Del Murdock arrives to broad...

59 pages

Ensemble of 7 - 20+

Ben Franklin has gathered his apprentices together to make a play that is the story of his life and how it parallels the beginning of a new country. The apprentices are inexperienced but very eager. One will get to play Ben as a boy, “Little Ben”; another will be the young and daring “Middle Ben.” And of course, “Big Ben” will be played by Ben himself, who will also take a few other juicy roles! The great moments of his life are enacted including the creation of “Silence Dogood,” a wildly popular fictional female letter-writer who mocks all of society and ste...

60 pages

12 to 30 (4 m, 8 w with doubling) (7 m, 13 w, 10+ flexible)

In 1890s London, a recent night of fatal violence has terrorized the city. Scotland Yard fears that the infamous Jack the Ripper has finally returned home. Inspector William Wright has staked his career on bringing the killer to justice and believes he finally has his man. Wright will stop at nothing to make sure that George Bessel goes to the gallows for the crime. However, Bessel’s partner and friend, Theresa Vincey, protests his innocence. The leading witness to the crime, Vincey holds the key to Bessel’s fate. As the investigation unfolds with interviews,...

62 pages

5 m, 7 w

High school outsiders Agatha, Sebastian, Claire, and Ryder have bonded as the After-School Detectives devoted to solving crimes and misdemeanors at Yankum High School. Trouble is, they don’t get the slightest bit of recognition even though they’ve found lost lab animals, returned extorted lunch money, and stopped a blackmail plot. Head detective Agatha (named after her mom’s favorite author) figures if they could just get one Big Case, they’d make a name for themselves. It doesn’t take long! When someone breaks into janitor Willy’s office and steals petty cas...

63 pages

8 - 9 m, 12 w, extras

The townspeople having been living in their quiet Spanish village for centuries under the hechizo, avoiding aging, disease, and death. But when Tomaso decides to leave after Rosita denies him, the spell is broken. The Eights come again, offering protection in exchange for the death of one of the villagers -- one that is selected by the townspeople themselves. Two Americans have unexpectedly arrived and are invited to stay at the inn, drink the wine, take part in the fiesta, and cast their votes. While Papa tries to unite the village, jealous Obella has her ow...

59 pages

Flexible cast of 21 (from 12 m, 9 w to 7 m, 14 w)

Maxwell the Magnificent, the famous magician, has just completed a gruelling world tour. His entire production company has returned to Max's private island estate to collect final paychecks and head for home. It is here, while checking over props, that Max comes to the reluctant realization that his continuous bad luck on tour was by design. Someone has been sabotaging his act! It's hard to guess who it might be because as the faithful butler intones, "To know Max is to loathe him." So Max and a police-inspector friend arrange a special command performance wh...

63 pages

14 m, 4 w, extras

Mistress Page and Mistress Ford are up to paying back the mischievous Falstaff for his duplicity. The Merry Wives of Windsor, one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, features the huge and conceited Sir John Falstaff at his funniest. Because the play is filled with a large variety of character types including two with outrageous accents, students will find this condensed version (which uses the Bard's own words), manageable, enjoyable and rewarding. About 90 minutes.

48 pages

18-19 roles (2 m, 1 w, 15-16 flexible)

When a pirate ship inadvertently sails over the lost city of Atlantis, an adventure-seeking girl – who happens to be the granddaughter of Poseidon himself – makes friends with a charmingly naïve sailor, causing their two worlds to collide. As the pirates continue to arrr-gue and the Atlanteans ask an endless series of questions with no answers, new friends Duffle and Pana explore strange new worlds they have never seen before. With the help of a Narrator giving advice and a friendly dog who just wants to play, and with Poseidon’s undersea magic adding to the ...

62 pages

8 m, 8 w

Freshman Bobby Hill drinks a potion that turns him from a know-it-all teen into a 25-year old man everyone thinks is the school's new assistant baseball coach. Bobby suddenly finds himself running the team, using an expense account and avoiding the coach's man-hungry daughter. "All I wanted was to play baseball," he whines to Wally, another teen who spends more time on the psychiatrist's couch than behind the plate. During the big tournament, Bobby wants to help the losing Zephyrs win, but it's every man (and boy!) for himself as he ducks newspaper reporters,...

76 pages

5 m, 5 w

A magazine reporter interviewing 95-year-old Caddy Miller expects to hear the story of a woman who tended house and stood by her man while they homesteaded. Instead, the reporter finds a real pioneer who carved a place for herself in the Wyoming Territory in the 1880s. In flashbacks we see how young Caddy arrives out West with her dour husband. All they have to do is make three improvements to the land and it is theirs, but Caddy finds her new life increasingly difficult. A local rancher resents the "nesters" moving in and resorts to killing their stock while...

57 pages

2 m, 6 w, 1 flexible

Darby is a senior in high school, editor of the school newspaper, and dating the homecoming queen. Everything in his life is wonderful with one secret exception. Darby has been HIV positive since a blood transfusion he received as a child. His friends learn how to deal first with the news of his infection and then with his death when the virus progresses into AIDS. Full of the humor and romance typical of people their ages, the play ends with a dramatic scene that has garnered standing ovations in prior productions. Interior set.

64 pages

7 m, 15 w, optional extras

Coco is a lovable French poodle who dies of a broken heart after being DOGNAPPED! Every pooch in doggie heaven gets one wish, and Coco’s wish is to return to school on the day of the mid-term dance. Her former owner, a teacher named Steve Ritter, taught Coco to “sing” and he planned to have her entertain. Coco was anxious to make him proud. Keeper, the basset hound in charge of such things, grants the wish but sends two other dogs to keep an eye on Coco as French poodles are inclined to be somewhat frivolous. The two other dogs are Alice, a blood-hound, and R...

76 pages

6 m, 7 w, 5 flexible

Daisy, a somewhat clumsy college student, has been hired by Rose Thornbush to sweep and clean her flower shop, Rose’s Roses. Daisy, however, only took the menial job to get closer to her real goal of floral designer. It’s frustrating because the designs Mrs. Thornbush creates are terrible, as proven by the lack of business in the shop. Daisy, along with three young customers, can design much prettier arrangements. Mr. Hoodwink and Miss Deed appear and devise a competition between Rose’s Roses and the rival Monsieur Prince’s Shop of Floral Designs. The winner ...

48 pages

18 flexible parts, doubling possible

The play takes place during a graveyard shift in a big city police booking room where alleged criminals' mug shots are taken by two cops, a hardened veteran and a rookie on her first night. Some of the "criminals" include an African-American graduate student who infiltrated a meeting of the Klan; a drunken driver who caused a fatal accident; a pistol-packing pizza delivery woman; a husband who helped his dying wife commit suicide; a raving husband obsessed with the talk-show host who has influenced his newly liberated wife; and others. Pathetically, tragicall...

74 pages

4 m, 4 w

In this high-voltage sequel to Bram Stoker's classic vampire tale, Baroness Katarina Stephanowski of Rumania - who is actually the widow of Count Dracula - moves to England in search of fresh blood. She gains entrance to the country home of Dr. Vincent Grant and his daughter, Diana. Attracted to Diana's fiance, Jeremy Randolph, the baroness attempts to make him her mate. When the Grants discover Jeremy bitten on the neck and nearly drained of blood, Dr. Grant sends for Lucy Seward. She has survived Dracula's bite herself and realizes what a dangerous adversar...

62 pages

Interracial cast of 4 m, 3 w, 2 flexible, 1 child

Cole, a slave, struggles with the prospect of escaping--the personal struggles and danger it would mean for his family. Escape would also mean forgoing all the trust and faith his “owner,” Mr. Jones, had invested in Cole. After much thought, and arguing with his wife, Cole agrees that an opportunity for freedom is worth sacrificing his fairly contented life as a slave. Their plan of escape, however, is found out. Cole must come face to face with Mr. Jones and suffer the consequences. The cost is great. The slave gives his life for individual freedom. The slav...

80 pages

17 roles (approx. 8 m, 9 w)

A "melodrama plus," this play cleverly intertwines a classic "losing the homestead" plot with a realistic subplot in which high school drama students are putting on (what else?!) a melodrama. The Colonel and his daughter Belle are trying to keep the family restaurant (and Belle's heart) from the clutches of the villain I.C. Blizzard, a fast food franchiser. The hero, Beau, suffers from a perpetual crisis of confidence that he deals with by cooking and obsessive psychoanalysis. The student characters trade insults that imperfectly hide a budding romance. Holdi...

61 pages

Flexible cast of 28 (Minimum: 4m, 4 w)

Their adoring public never suspects these four great men in rock are bored senseless and challenge each other with daily mind games. And with these famous guys, anything goes, from historical trivia to famous quotes. This ten-minute play is just one of 10 in this collection which is sure to entertain with its quick dialogue and quirky situations. In other plays a man tries to prepare for the worst with a visit to his friendly, neighborhood survivalist warehouse; several soon-to-be driving teens meet their match with their instructor; a teen job seeker shows s...

67 pages

7 m, 4 w, 4 flex; doubling possible

In this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's work, John Unger, a studious and innocent young man, has been invited by his fellow prep school student Percy Washington to summer at his family’s opulent estate hidden in the Montana mountains. John readily accepts. There he meets Percy’s parents, sister Jasmine, and sister Kismine – with whom he quickly falls in love. But as he and Kismine begin to make plans for the future, John discovers the source of the family’s wealth is a secret many have died for. Will he survive the summer? Full evening.

67 pages

4 m, 4 w

Margaret Miller is a self-styled "barracuda" literary agent whose new client, Shane Velasco, star of action films, is expected for dinner and contract negotiations. Her routine business meeting becomes a comedy playground when her associate (and ex-husband) Hank shows up with his own client, Madame Guadelupe Montevideo, "world famous" hypnotist. When Margaret insults Guadelupe, she turns her fiery temper and flare for the dramatic on Margaret, hypnotizing her into a shy, five-year-old child. Coping with her growing pains are her roommate Janet, a bored execut...

75 pages

8 m, 10 w, extras and voice-overs

Katie Grove has been recruited to the exclusive private Coolidge Academy because of her incredible talent as an ace softball pitcher. But not everyone is happy to have her onboard, especially a prima donna pitcher who has no intentions of allowing Katie to replace her. Katie soon discovers the Academy’s athletics program is a front for an illegal gambling ring, headed by the most popular guy on campus and his two bumbling friends. Katie must work through a series of issues that will challenge her ideas about love, sportsmanship, and integrity. The Lockers, wh...

85 pages

Flexible cast

Author H.H. Munro, also known as Saki, wrote about upperclass English society before the first World War and satirized its foibles with dark humor and acid wit. Playwright Burton Bumgarner has updated and Americanized three of Saki's stories, dramatizing their impish ironies, exquisite mischief, and O'Henry-like twist endings. All three stories, which are played before one basic living room set, may be presented for a full evening's entertainment, or each can be presented separately. (See individual listings in the One-Act Section.)

  Tell-Tale

Drama by Rebecca Gorman O'neill

84 pages

13 m, 21 w. (With doubling 5 m, 8 w. )

TELL-TALE is loosely based on the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe. It is, in essence, Poe’s last confession. It takes place in the Baltimore hospital where he lies in a delirium before his death. Poe is forced to look at his life, his mistakes, his outrageous behaviors, and, in the end, he must try to find peace. This peace in death comes by way of the only peace he had in life -- telling a story. Poe starts his story by casting himself as the dashing, tragic hero, but as the play progresses, his own memories slip from his control, turning on him and forcin...